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BIOL 1106 > 20: Ecology of Individuals and Populations > Flashcards

20: Ecology of Individuals and Populations Flashcards

Module 4, Lesson 2

1
Q

____ is the study of relationships: how organisms interact with one another and with their abiotic environment.

A

Ecology

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2
Q

List the four levels of ecology.

A
  1. Individuals
  2. Populations
  3. Community
  4. Ecosystem
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3
Q

Behavioral and physiological ecology are forms of ____ ecology.

A

Individual

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4
Q

True or false:

Ecology and environmentalism are essentially the same thing.

A

Fale

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5
Q

____ informs us about how our actions may impact the environment.

A

Ecology

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6
Q

____ describes efforts to minimize our negative impacts on the environment.

A

Environmentalism

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7
Q

A(n) ____ is a helpful change.

A

Adaptation

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8
Q

An ____ is a helpful change within an individual that allows it to deal with a particular situiation.

A

Individual adaptation

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9
Q

____ is the ability to change one’s phenotype, and describes helpful changes that occur to an individual during its life.

A

Phenotypic plasticity

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10
Q

An ____ is an inherited trait that helps an individual to survive and reproduce.

A

Evolutionary adaptation

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11
Q

The fact that animals have phenotypic plasticity is itself an…

A

Evolutionary adaptation

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12
Q

A ____ is a group of individuals of one species that are separate from other groups of that species.

A

Population

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13
Q

Individuals in a ____ can breed with one another but have limited, if any, breeding with other groups.

A

Population

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14
Q

True or false:

It is often difficult to find a discrete population of individuals to study.

A

True

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15
Q

Ecologists often study only a subset of a population, called a…

A

Subpopulation

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16
Q

A ____ is a collection of populations that have a limited amount of exchange between them.

A

Metapopulation

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17
Q

List four characteristics that can be used to describe a population.

A
  1. Distribution
  2. Density
  3. Demographics
  4. Growth rate
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18
Q

____ descrives the spacing pattern of individuals within a population.

A

Distribution

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19
Q

List three kinds of distributions.

A
  1. Uniform
  2. Random
  3. Clumped
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20
Q

In a(n) ____ distribution, individuals are evenly spaced over an area.

A

Uniform

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21
Q

A(n) ____ distribution will often occur when there is competition within a species for resources that are relatively evenly dispersed.

A

Uniform

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22
Q

Competition within a species is called…

A

Intraspecific competition

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23
Q

Competition between individuals of different species is called…

A

Interspecific competition

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24
Q

A(n) ____ distribution is usually a result of individuals having no strong interactions with one another.

A

Random

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25
In order for a species to have a(n) ____ distribution, the position of one individual cannot affect the position of another.
Random
26
A(n) ____ distribution often occurs when resources are congregated in specific areas.
Clumped
27
____ describes the number of organisms within a given area.
Density
28
As an organism's size increases, its population density tends to...
Decrease
29
# True or false: The same species or population may have different distributions and densities.
True
30
____ is the quantitative study of populations.
Demography
31
List five things that are often involved in a population's demographics.
1. Sex ratio 2. Age structure 3. Fecundity 4. Mortality 5. Generation time
32
A ____ is a group of individuals in the same age range, which has its own characteristic fecundity and mortality.
Cohort
33
A population's fecundity describes its...
Birth rate
34
A population's mortality describes its...
Death rate
35
The ____ is the average interval between the birth of an individual and the birth of its offspring.
Generation time
36
# True or false: Generation time may be very constant across an entire species, or it may differ between populations.
True
37
Ecologists study how different demographics affect the...
Population and its growth rate
38
The ____ is the rate of births and immigrations minus the rate of deaths and emigrations.
Population growth rate
39
The population growth rate will be positive if...
More births/immigrations occur than deaths/emigrations
40
The population growth rate will be negative if...
More deaths/emigrations occur than births/immigrations
41
List the two assumptions of an exponential growth model.
1. There is no net immigration or emigration 2. There is no population limit
42
# True or false: In order to use an exponential growth model, there cannot be any movement of individuals into or out of the population.
False There can be no NET movement, which means that we can still use the model if there is equal movement in and out
43
The ____ assumes that all individuals in a population reproduce at maximum capacity.
Exponential growth model
44
Which three variables are involved in the equation for an exponential growth model?
1. Intrinsic/maximum growth rate 2. Population size 3. Rate
45
# True or false: In a simple exponential growth model, the intrinsic growth rate for a population does not change.
True
46
The "rate" variable in an exponential growth model is the...
Change in population size per unit time
47
In an exponential growth model, the rate at which new individuals are born ____ over time, and the number of individuals in the population ____.
Increases; increases
48
A ____ of population growth includes a carrying capacity.
Logistic growth model
49
The ____ is the number of individuals that can be sustained by the environment.
Carrying capacity
50
In a logistic growth model, as the population size approaches the carrying capacity, the rate of growth...
Decreases
51
Population ____ occurs when one factor, called a limiting factor, stops population growth.
Limitation
52
# True or false: Carrying capacity always stays the same in a population.
False Changes in the environment can cause a change in carrying capacity.
53
Population ____ describes certain factors that keep population size dynamically stable.
Regulatio
54
____ exert the same force on the population regardless of density.
Density-independent factors
55
Weather and natural disasters are examples of...
Density-independent factors
56
____ exert greater effect on a population's growth rate when the population density is high.
Density-dependent factors
57
Food availability, predators, and territory are examples of...
Density-dependent factors
58
Density-dependent factors usually create a ____ for population growth.
Negative feedback loop
59
The ____ occurs when density-dependent factors exert positive feedback on a population.
Allee effect
60
The Allee effect generally only occurs when...
The population size is very small
61
Individuals in a ____ species are good survivors and competitors.
K-selected
62
A species that is ____ has its population size held near its carrying capacity.
K-selected
63
List four characteristics of K-selected species.
1. Reproduce late 2. Long lifespan 3. Few offspring 4. Low mortality rate
64
____ species are often large species, like humans and elephants.
K-selected
65
Individuals in a ____ species are good reproducers.
R-selected
66
A ____ species is affected by many density-independent factors that often cause its population to drop.
R-selected
67
List four characteristics of R-selected species.
1. Reproduce early 2. Short lifespans 3. Many offspring 4. High mortality rate
68
____ species are often small species, like mice.
R-selected
69
Most species fall somewhere on a ____ between being R-selected and K-selected.
Continuum
70
For several thousand years, the human population was...
Fairly constant (well below 1 billion)
71
For most of human history the human population was regulated by...
Disease, predators, and food availability
72
Since the ____, the world population has continued to rise well above the stable size.
Bubonic plague
73
Advances in ____ have enabled the human population to grow rapidly over the past several hundred years.
Agriculture, public health, and medicine
74
Over the past 200 years, the human population growth rate has been essentially...
Exponential
75
# True or false: The maximum change in size of the world population did not occur in the same year as the maximum growth rate.
True
76
List three types of age graphs for humans.
1. Rectangular 2. Triangular 3. Inverted triangular
77
A ____ age graph indicate a stable population size that is unlikely to significantly grow or shrink in the near future.
Rectangular
78
A rectangular age graph indicates a ____ birth rate and mortality rate, except in the oldest age groups.
Low
79
A ____ age graph indicates a population has the potential for a rapid increase in size in the future.
Triangular
80
A triangular age graph indicate a ____ birth rate and mortality in all age groups.
High
81
An ____ age graph indicates that the population will shrink significantly in the near future.
Inverted triangular
82
An inverted triangular age graph indicates a ____ birth rate and low mortality rate.
Very low
83
A rapid shrinkage in a country's population is problematic because...
Without young people it will become difficult to sustain a healthy, growing economy

BIOL 1106 (23 decks)

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